The inside view from senior vice-president HR (Europe) Nicki Crossland

What is Claire’s work ethos?

It is all about the customer.

What makes the ideal employee?

Someone who is driven, ambitious, hard working, creative, innovative and, most importantly, customer focused.

As a workplace, what sets Claire’s apart from its competitors?

Working for Claire’s, like high street fashion, is extremely fast-paced and exciting. We have a strong emphasis on teamwork, promote an open environment for feedback and have a ‘can do’ attitude.

How do you strive to retain your staff?

We’re big on development, with excellent training, including bespoke induction programmes and access to a wide range of training material and courses. We invest in staff progression, which is why we can boast so many internal promotions. There are massive opportunities as we expand throughout Europe.

Founded In 1961 in North America - the first UK store opened in 1996

Based Claire’s European office is in Birmingham

Number of staff About 6,000 across Europe

Number of stores More than 3,000 worldwide, 430 in the UK and working towards the 1,000th store in Europe this year

Number of days’ leave This varies depending on which country an employee is employed in

Employee benefits In the UK, Claire’s places a strong emphasis on bonus opportunities and incentive schemes, in addition to life assurance, flexible working, childcare vouchers and employee discounts